colonial st. augustine

Thursday, March 8, 2012

I swear, this is the last of it, well almost. When I first went to St. Augustine, I thought it to be a very hokey tourist trap. Beyond the kitschy beach shops and seafood shacks (both of which I actually do enjoy!) is a wonderful historic gem.

Fort Matanzas

This is my favorite house tour. It is the "oldest" house and has been in near continuous occupation since the Spanish. It shows the evolution of the town. You can see the basic house on the first level, the English addition with the second. While it has been restored, it once also bore the ornamentation of the Victorian era.

The Peña-Peck House

The Ximenez-Fatio House

And worth mentioning is the Fountain of Youth, in case your regimen is insufficient...

I'm so glad you said something! The sign outside of Villa Zorayda makes it sound like a new build tourist trap! Now that I know it is actually an 1883 house (of course modified for tourists :)) I'll actually stop in to check it out next time we visit. Oddly, we know some of the family that owned it until their son-in-law took over and didn't even realize it until looking at the building's history! You will have to post your photos if you find them, hopefully pre-touristy era.

I looked on the internet and you are right; the current signs for the house seem to rob it of all age, quality and interest. Ironically, in some attempt to make it "fun", they repel the very people who would appreciate its history.

The photos I have are original-owner-still-in-residence ones from the 1890's. However, with a house like Villa Zorayda, I'm not sure that anything can be really considered "pre-tourist".--Road to Parnassus

It's hard to imagine so much packed into such a small place. I want to see inside the churches but it seems they have weddings 24/7. I still have vivid memories my my family trip when I was 5. Summer before last the Palm Tree Santa's were there. Who knew?